Wolf's Blood
by Nekisahloth
Summary: Felisa de Pazzi, illigetimate daughter of Fransesco de Pazzi's wife, searches to avenge the death of her older brother, Vieri, her only friend and protector during her childhood. Set right at the beginning of AC:Bh with flashbacks to pre-AC2.
1. Blood of Her Enemies

**A.D. 1476**

She looked happier than usual today.

Vieri smiled to himself as he sat on the bench in the courtyard. It concerned him some that she was running around so much after her coughing fit that morning but he pushed his worries aside and let her have her fun. Apparently, judging by her slow methodical stalking of something invisible to him, there were still some insects out and about for her to catch. It was a beautiful day. The sun was bright and you could hardly feel the chill in the air that signaled the arrival of winter.

She suddenly stopped stalking whatever bug she had been so diligently following around the yard and began coughing roughly. Vieri got up and walked over to her.

"You ought to go inside and get some rest, Felisa," he said and gently pushed her towards the door.

When she stopped coughing she turned around and stared up at him. "Just ten more minutes, brother? Please?" she begged.

Vieri sighed. "Felisa, father will have my head if you get sicker."

"I won't get sicker. I promise," she assured him and without waiting for an answer ran back to where she had been following the bug before.

"Don't make me carry you. You're getting too big," he teased.

"You're just sore from the fight with the Auditore boy yesterday," she said, grinning.

Vieri laughed. "How do you find out about these things?"

"I have my sources," Felisa replied cryptically. "Well, I suppose you wouldn't be sore though, seeing as how you didn't actually get involved in the fighting."

Vieri snorted. "I did get involved in the fighting, just indirectly."

She rolled her eyes. "Watching is not fighting."

"Hmph."

They were both silent for a moment.

"Why did you run, brother?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Because I need to practice so I can beat you in races," he joked, dodging the subject. "Now, you really must get inside."

"But, I'm fine," she protested.

Vieri thought for a moment. "Hmmm… well, if you're fine, you won't mind racing me back to the house?"

Felisa took off running towards the house with no warning and he laughed. "Cheater!" he yelled and ran after her. She beat him to the door, of course.

He'd always let his little sister win.

* * *

><p><strong>A.D. 1500<strong>

It had been more than twenty years since the death of Vieri, but Felisa had never forgotten.

Never forgotten watching Ezio murder her brother.

Never forgotten watching the assassin scream insults at his body.

Never forgotten holding Vieri, cold and lifeless, and sobbing as Ezio and Mario Auditore watched.

Never forgotten the aftermath of Vieri's death.

No, Felisa de Pazzi had never forgotten.

And so she had aligned herself with a man rising quickly in the ranks of Italy, Cesare Borgia. He had promised her many things, money, power… and the only thing she really wanted- revenge.

* * *

><p>Felisa's mind was in chaos as they rode for Monteriggioni. So many things to consider. She and Cesare rode at the front of the Borgia army. He seemed to enjoy having her around, although she only saw him as a means to an end. She sighed and Cesare looked over at her.<p>

"Worried, madonna?" he asked.

"No." Felisa stated bluntly.

Cesare smirked. "You should be. These are assassins we're after, not common murderers and thieves."

"I am not afraid of assassins. I am not afraid of death." She clicked her tongue and kicked her mare, Bella Mia, lightly to get further ahead, hoping to avoid more conversation with him.

Cesare simply sped up to stay with her. "But you are afraid of something."

"I fear nothing." A certain coldness had moved into her tone and Cesare, for once, did not say anything.

His silence was short lived.

"Then what troubles you? Are you second guessing our plans?"

She glared at him, a snarl forming on her face. "Never," she said, hate and bitterness in her voice, though not directed at him.

Cesare smiled, as though this was the reaction he had hoped for all along. "Excellent. Good to see the Wolf come out of hiding again. I was afraid you'd lost your appetite for blood after our last… incident."

Felisa simply growled in response.

Laughing, Cesare let his horse slow and fall behind Felisa's.

* * *

><p>Felisa kept to herself when they set up camp that night. Sometimes she would speak with Luca to pass the time, and keep the other men at bay, but tonight she had too much to mull over. Tomorrow they attacked Monteriggioni and she would avenge Vieri. Her mind was clouded with a mixture of well planned events and emotional turmoil as she lay down to sleep that night.<p>

She had just fallen asleep when someone shook her awake. "Hey... hey... Felisa!" a voice hissed in her ear.

She woke up, startled, and lashed out, feeling her fist collide with someone's face.

"Ow!"

She sat up and let her eyes get better adjusted to the dark. When she saw who it was she began muttering curses under her breath. "What do you want Luca?" she grumbled.

"You hit me!

She glared at him, pale blue eyes glimmering in the darkness. "You woke me up. You know not to do that."

Luca was rubbing his cheek with his palm. "That hurt."

Felisa took a deep breath to calm herself. "Luca, I'm going to ask you one more time. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to ask you for some advice."

She rolled her eyes. Oh the joys of having a seventeen year old boy follow you everywhere. She was thirty seven, but for some reason he seemed to appreciate her company better than the company of the other Borgia soldiers his age. He followed her almost everywhere like a lost puppy. It reminded her of... She shook her head. "Go ask someone more experience in fighting assassins," she muttered and rolled over away from him.

"But you're far better than them," he protest and moved around to face her again, sitting down on the ground. "No one is as skilled with a sword as you and..."

"Luca."

"...you have great aim with throwing knives, and..."

"Luca!"

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "Please, it's my first battle and I'm..." His voice trailed off and he looked down.

"You're nervous," Felisa stated simply and sat up.

"No! I mean... maybe..." He still hadn't looked up at her.

"Hey, you'll be fine," she said reassuringly and ruffled his hair. "Just remember what you've been taught. Don't take unnecessary risks and keep to the outskirts of the battle. Let the more experienced fighters fight on the inside, okay?"

He looked up and nodded, but his green eyes were still full of worry. "Will you be okay?" he asked.

"Of course I'll be okay. I can take care of myself." She ruffled his hair again.

He flattened his hair back down with his hands. "How are you not scared? You could die tomorrow. Manuel says..."

She snorted. "Ignore Manuel. He has a stick shoved up his ass. He only wishes that I'd end up dead and loves to think up scenarios where I die. Believe me, I'll be fine."

"Are you really going after..."

Felisa sighed. "Luca, go get some rest."

He looked like he was about to argue, but thought better of it. "Good night, Felisa," he said and got up to go back to where he had set up his packs.

"Good night, Luca," she replied and laid back down.

Her dreams were filled with the blood of her enemies and the victory of her allies.


	2. I Know You Are There

**1476**

Felisa hated going to pick up medicine from the doctor. The masks they wore scared her and the medicine they gave her tasted awful and never seemed to help with the coughing. Vieri knew and avoided taking her with him whenever possible, but today the rest of the Pazzis were out and he couldn't leave her alone at home for fear that she'd have another coughing fit and panic. He looked down to check and make sure she was still with him.

She was twelve, only five years younger than him, but she was small for her age. Vieri didn't know if that was a symptom of her illness or inherited from her father. She looked stressed and was keeping right next to him.

It will be the dread of the doctor and not this illness that will kill her, he thought. "Felisa," he said out loud. "Why don't you run and get some bread while I get your medicine." He gave her a reassuring smile. "We can meet back at the fountain when we're done."

She brightened at that and nodded enthusiastically. He handed her a few coins and she bounded off into the crowd. "Be careful!" he called out after her, even knowing she probably couldn't hear him.

* * *

><p>Felisa slowed down when the bakery was in sight. The baker always teased her if she came up running, as he put it, "like a madman". Vieri sent her out to do little things whenever he could, knowing that it did her good to get out into the town. She and the baker had become friends over the past year.<p>

He grinned when he saw her walking up to the shop. "Ah, little Felisa, think I didn't notice you running this way, almost knocking over Madonna Grazia?" he said with a wink.

She blushed. "I… uhh…"

He laughed. "The usual I assume?"

"Yes, signore," she replied, managing to regain control of her tongue. She handed him the coins Vieri had given her. He turned around and picked out a loaf of bread and gave it to her, still looking amused.

"Keep out of trouble now," he said with another laugh.

"I always do!"

* * *

><p>She was running back towards the fountain when she first met him. It was really less of a meeting and more of a collision but she usually kept that fact hidden. No need to strengthen her reputation of being clumsy.<p>

She tripped over something, probably her own feet, and crashed into him, putting both of them on the ground. She quickly scrambled to her feet and began apologizing.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled, not looking at him. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I…"

He interrupted her with a laugh, getting up and dusting himself off. "It's fine. I've done the same thing many times."

She somehow gathered the courage to look at him and was surprised to see it was a boy only a couple years older than her. He had strangely golden brown eyes and a friendly smile.

She smiled back at him. "Good to know I'm not the only one."

"Most definitely not, you should meet my brothers, they are far worse than you I can assure you." He reached out a hand and she took it giving what she would call a "manly handshake". "I'm..." He started to introduce himself but Vieri walked up before he could finish. The boy paled.

"Get lost," Vieri said coldly.

"I, uh, nice to meet you," he stammered and turned, walking off quickly.

Felisa looked up at Vieri, completely confused "Why did you…"

"Let's go home," he replied quietly, the cold edge gone from his voice. He started walking back to their home and she followed.

"Who was he?" she asked.

Vieri sighed. "That was Petruccio Auditore."

"Oh, so I shouldn't talk to him?" she asked sincerely. "He seemed perfectly nice."

Her brother stopped and turned to face her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "He is an Auditore and you are a Pazzi. Our families are not friends, and for good reasons. The Auditores just cause trouble. You should avoid him in the future."

Felisa was still confused but she nodded. "Okay, brother. I will just have to trust you."

He smiled. "You can always trust me."

* * *

><p><strong>1500<strong>

Felisa, for the second time, awoke startled. This time something had hit her on the head hard. She quickly got up and looked around. Luca was standing a suspicious distance away watching her.

"You hit me last night," he said. "So this morning I threw a rock at you." He seemed a bit proud of himself, which did not help Felisa's mood.

"Come here," she grumbled and he walked over slowly. She glared at him for a moment and then suddenly hit him on the side of his head. "Don't ever do that again."

"Are you two quite done yet?" someone asked from a few yards away.

Felisa rolled her eyes and turned to look at him. "Don't you have something better to do, Manuel?"

He smirked. "Actually, I'm here to get you. Cesare wants to speak with you before we go."

"Of course he does," she muttered. "Luca?"

"Yes?"

"Can you make sure Bella Mia gets water before we go?" she asked, gesturing towards her horse.

"Of course!" he said brightly.

After Luca scurried off, Manuel laughed. "What a lovesick puppy."

"Excuse me?" Felisa said with a glare.

Manuel gave her one of his typical nasty grins. "Cesare is expecting you," he said and walked off, with the look that she so hated still on his face.

She picked up her belt and put it on quickly, adjusting her knives and her sword, the only physical possession she had that she even cared about. Taking one quick glance to make sure Luca was where he was supposed to be, she headed toward where Cesare had been camped.

* * *

><p>"Ah, Felisa," Cesare said, walking over to her when he saw her approach.<p>

"You wanted to see me," she said flatly.

"You still sound so unhappy. I would think that you would be happy today."

"I will only be happy once it is finished. I do not like to make assumptions as to what will happen." She fiddled unconsciously with the knives in her belt. Three knives.

"I promised you that you'd have your revenge and I plan on keeping that promise."

"I appreciate that, Cesare, but I'm afraid I don't really have time to talk. I need to finish getting ready."

He waved his hand. "Ah, yes, how silly of me. Go do what you must."

* * *

><p>It was only been a two hour ride to Monteriggioni from where the Borgia army had been camped. They left the horses at a nearby stable, paying the stable owner a fine sum to keep his mouth shut and get out.<p>

They approached from the east, thinking that would be the least expected attack point.

And they had been right.

It did not take them long to break past the first defenses of Monteriggioni. The assassins and their allies had no idea the attack was coming. Felisa smiled to herself as she realized how easily they had gotten in.

She pulled her blade, once pristine, now covered in blood, from the chest of a man who had gotten in their way. He didn't appear to be an assassin but you could never really tell.

She leaned down over his body. "Requiescat en pace," she murmured, closing the man's eyes.

She heard one of the other Templars snort behind her. "Really, madonna?"

Felisa ignored him and instead ran ahead back into the fray where Mario Auditore had been badly injured. The gates were opened and the Auditore had collapsed in front of a very smug Cesare, now sheathing his sword.

"I know you are there Ezio!" he yelled.

Felisa looked around, trying to spot Ezio in the town. She kept her gaze mostly to the rooftops, knowing the assassin's affinity for high places all too well. Seeing movement, she slipped past Cesare and headed further into Monteriggioni. She kept her feet on the ground, but her eyes up above.

"The pope told me about you and your little group of assassins!" Cesare continued. "And this!"

Felisa had no idea what "this" Cesare was referring to, but at this moment she didn't particularly care.

"We've had too much bloodshed!"

Someone was running across the roofs. Felisa could hear the tiles breaking. She followed the sound as quickly as she could. Ezio Auditore was fast.

"I think a cleansing is in order!"

She thought she was directly below him at this point and looked around but couldn't see him.

"So consider this an invitation, from my family, to yours!"

She heard a gunshot, but not coming from where she had anticipated. She looked up to see where the shooter was but ended up distracted by the fact that a man had crash landed on the ground in front of her.

Ezio Auditore lay bleeding at her feet.


	3. You Better Not Be Dead

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews Corvidfeathers (crows are awesome) and Freaky Kid (epic name XD). Always brings a smile to my face. So here, have another chapter. :D**

* * *

><p><strong>1476<strong>

Three weeks had passed and Felisa knew she should have listened to her brother's advice and avoided the Auditores. But for some reason she found herself making excuses to go into town but instead slink around outside the Auditore home, watching the brothers and sister talk in the courtyard. She learned a lot in those three weeks.

Claudia, was seeing a man named Duccio.

Federico had gotten himself in trouble (again).

Ezio slept around more than a courtesan.

And Petruccio was ill.

His family took care of him like Vieri took care of her. Making sure he stayed inside and rested plenty, eating the nasty paste the doctors gave him when he was badly sick.

Petruccio was inside that day. He hadn't looked so well the last time she'd seen him. Part of her worried for him. She knew what it was like to be sick so often. They seemed to have the same illness. It was mostly bad coughing, but sometimes the fits would go on so long they couldn't breathe. She panicked when that happened and so Vieri made sure to keep an eye on her when she was having a bad day of coughing.

She saw Federico and Ezio in the courtyard, probably talking about women. That was what they talked about a large percent of the time. Curious, as she had learned quite a bit about relationships already from listening to the two brothers, she crept closer.

"But you made her smile, Ezio. She will remember you," Federico said, grinning and put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

Ezio shrugged it off with a small glare at him. "You set me up to look like an idiot."

"All I did was set you up to talk to a pretty woman. You're the one that made yourself look like an idiot."

Felisa laughed at that which, unfortunately for her, did not go unnoticed by the brothers. Federico froze for a moment and turned around, looking for whoever had been listening in.

Panicking, Felisa bolted. Not the best idea. They were both much quicker than her and managed to block off her path before she could get out of the courtyard.

"And you are?" Ezio asked, sounding a little annoyed.

Federico crossed his arms over his chest, looking far more amused than his younger brother. Realizing who she was, he laughed. "It's Felisa de Pazzi! Now what would a Pazzi be doing running around out here, hmm?"

"I… uhhh…" she stammered, taking a few steps back.

"Surely Vieri warned you to stay away from us?" Federico said, smiling and glancing over at Ezio.

Ezio appeared to have calmed down from the initial shock of finding out they were being watched. "Ah, yes. Remember when Petruccio came back from the market a few weeks ago, looking like he'd seen a ghost?"

"Oh, right, he had a run in with you and Vieri, did he not, little Pazzi?" Federico asked.

"Y-yes…"

Federico grinned. "So why then, did you come around here? Surely Vieri told you we eat children?"

"You… you don't eat children… no one does…"

"Hmmm, brother?" Federico said.

"Yes?" Ezio responded.

"I think we should teach little Pazzi here why you should not come snooping at the Auditore home."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

* * *

><p>A few minutes later Felisa found herself on the roof of the Auditore home, frozen in fear. She had never been up this high before and she most definitely did not like it. There was a ladder a short distance away from her but she could not seem to work up the courage to go over to it and climb down. So instead she curled up, putting her chin on her knees, and watched the birds fly around the rooftops. She heard that Petruccio collected feathers and it seemed like this was a good place to gather lots of them.<p>

She didn't realize how long she had been on the roof until darkness fell. She still couldn't make herself get down. She shivered and began coughing.

When the coughing stopped she buried her face in her arms on her knees. She didn't like being out when it was dark and cold. It made her nervous that she'd have a coughing fit and be unable to breathe.

A few hours passed and she had had several coughing fits by then. She knew that if she didn't get down she'd be stuck up there until Vieri found her, and Vieri would have no reason to look for her on the roof of the Auditore home.

For the first time she realized that he was probably looking for her. He was probably panicking, unable to find her in her usual places. She had only gone into town to "get some bread", which she had planned on doing later that afternoon.

She began coughing again, wondering if she'd ever get off the roof.

* * *

><p><strong>1500<strong>

Felisa squatted down to shake the bleeding man and make sure he was still alive.

"You better not be dead, you bastard," she muttered and gave him a hard shove. He made a small noise in protest and opened one of his eyes. "Ah, so you are alive. Perfect." She had a wolfish grin on her face as she looked down at him. "Do you know where you are, assassin?" she asked.

Suddenly it seemed to register with him where he was and what was happening. He could hear the fighting a ways away and started to panic, attempting to get up. Felisa quickly put an end to that with a blow to his injured shoulder.

"What are you doing?" he yelled. Oh how it reminded her of him screaming insults at Vieri's body. "Why aren't you with the others? Get out of…"

"Shut up, Auditore," she said, getting up and pulling him into a more secluded alley. He struggled, but his injuries prevented him from getting away.

"Who are you?" Ezio asked, completely confused.

He probably thinks I'm just one of the townspeople, she thought. "You don't recognize me, Ezio? It's been a while, but I'm sure you'll recognize this," she said, turning her face to better let him see a long scar running down the left side of her face.

"Merda!" he shouted and reached for a knife. Felisa caught his hand and pinned it before he got a hold on one. Ezio glared at her, unable to move his other arm because of the way his body was lying on his injured shoulder. "I never thought you'd actually come to finish the job," he said.

"I always keep my promises, Auditore," she said coldly.

"So then kill me," he replied, watching her carefully.

Felisa laughed, a demented sort of laugh, and shook her head. "That would be too kind," she said. "I have a much better plan."

"Oh really? Pray tell."

Her eyes glistened with a certain madness as she spoke. "I'm going to let you watch as everything you care for is taken from you. Cesare will happily be taking what little power the assassins have, and I will be happily slaughtering your family as you slaughtered mine."

"You crazy puttana!" he screamed and fought back as strongly as he could. "You will never get near them!"

"I will, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. I will, and you will suffer as I have."

He continued to fight her, but was slowly losing his strength as he bled. Moments later he passed out and Felisa let go of his hand, quickly leaving the alley, looking for the best escape route. Two of Mario Auditore's mercenaries were headed her way and she quickly ducked into a building and let them pass.

When she slipped out of her hiding spot she headed north, towards the Auditore home. No doubt Claudia and Maria Auditore were still inside, hidden.

Felisa moved as silently as she could, avoiding the attention of the assassins. She was not dressed in the usual Borgia army garb, but instead wore her own clothes. She had told Cesare from the beginning that she was not a soldier and he had accepted that, keeping her around as a hunter of thieves, murderers, and the like that were not supported by the Borgia.

Masquerading as a citizen, she followed the stream of townspeople fleeing, hoping they would lead her to the female Auditores. Felisa naturally kept her hand on her sword, something noticed by one of the assassins who was protecting the leaving citizens.

"Madonna," he said, gesturing towards her. She walked over to him.

"Yes, signore?"

"Why do you carry a sword?" he asked, suspicion entering his voice.

"Because I like to be able to protect myself," she replied simply. "Is there something wrong with a woman wanting to take care of herself?"

He shook his head, although he still seemed suspicious of her. "Just be careful, madonna."

She nodded and left to try and immerse herself in the crowd again when she heard a man yelling. She tensed and looked around, seeing one of the mercenaries she had evaded earlier pointing at her.

The assassin she had just spoken to made a move to attack her but she moved quicker, running her sword through his chest in one quick motion. He coughed once and then slid off her sword onto the ground, blood pooling around him.

"Requiescat en pace, assassin," she said quietly before running back towards the actual fighting. There was no reason to try and stay disguised as a citizen when there were already people after her.

Much to her displeasure, Claudia and Maria's deaths would have to wait for another day.


	4. What News

**A/N: Dude, I freaking love this story. **

* * *

><p><strong>1476<strong>

Giovanni Auditore was fast asleep when his youngest son knocked on the door. He nearly jumped, waking Maria as well, and grumbled something to himself as he opened the door.

"Father, I think there's someone on the roof," Petruccio said, looking a little worried and perhaps a little scared.

"Petruccio…" Giovanni began but was interrupted by Federico, who had come out to see what was going on.

"Merda! She's still up there?" he exclaimed.

"Who's still up there?" Giovanni asked.

Federico looked at the ground. "Uh, Ezio and I may have put the littlest Pazzi on the roof."

"Federico! What were you thinking? Petruccio, go find Ezio."

Federico ran a hand through his hair. "Ezio's not here."

"What?" Giovanni shook his head. "Never mind."

He motioned for Federico to follow him and walked out of the house looking a little more than frustrated with the antics of his sons. He wasn't sure how he could even begin to explain to Francesco what had happened.

"Why did you put her up there?" he asked.

Federico ran his hand through his hair again, a nervous habit he had. "She was snooping."

"Why?" Giovanni glanced up at the roof, trying to figure out where she was.

Federico pointed to where they had taken her up. "I don't know. We didn't really figure that out."

"So you an Ezio thought it was a good idea to drag her onto the roof and leave her there. Do you realize how difficult this will be to explain to the Pazzis. As if we didn't have enough trouble with them already." Giovanni sighed and climbed up the ladder onto the roof.

Sure enough, a small figure sat curled up a few yards away from him.

"Felisa?" he said quietly, not wanting to startle her.

She uncurled and looked at him, her pale eyes shining in the moonlight. She began coughing again and he made his way over to her.

"I'm going to help you get off the roof, okay?"

He helped her to her feet and guided her to the ladder. She was shaking badly, but he couldn't tell whether it was from the cold or fear.

When her feet were back on solid ground she breathed a sigh of relief and began looking for the quickest exit. Federico noticed her glancing around and stepped closer to her, which only caused her to panic and run straight into Giovanni.

"Hey," he said softly. "It's alright. No one's going to hurt you. We're going to take you home." He glared at his son. "Federico, go find your brother. I assume you know where he's at. Meet us at the Pazzi home." Giovanni started walking and Felisa followed quickly, staying as far from Federico as possible.

"Thank you, Signore Auditore," she mumbled, kicking a pebble with her shoe.

He sighed. "I'm sorry my sons gave you such trouble. I can assure you it won't happen again."

"It's okay. I shouldn't have been snooping."

"It's not okay. That is no excuse for what they did to you."

They walked in silence until they reached her home. She looked relieved to see it and ran ahead of him, but stopped quickly when she saw Ezio and Federico already there, dealing with an extremely angry Vieri.

Ezio's nose looked broken and Vieri looked like he had taken a bad hit to the eye. Both were screaming insults at each other, some of which Felisa didn't understand.

Ezio took a step towards Vieri but Federico pulled him back.

"Ezio!" he yelled at his younger brother. "Knock it off!"

"Did you not hear what that bastard said, Federico? The insults he spoke against our family?" Ezio struggled to free himself from his brother's hold.

Vieri stood back and glared at him coldly. He was about to speak when Felisa came running up and hugged him tightly.

"Felisa," he said quietly. "You should go inside."

Felisa looked at him. "Promise not to fight anymore?"

"Will you go inside if I say yes?"

She nodded and he ruffled her hair. "Then yes, I promise not to fight anymore. Now go get some sleep."

She hugged him once more before getting inside out of the cold and laying down to sleep.

Vieri watched to make sure she went inside before turning back to the Auditore brothers, and Giovanni, who had just walked up. Ezio had calmed down quite a bit and Federico had let go of him. Giovanni looked tired, whether from needing sleep or being drug into another mess by his sons, Vieri couldn't tell.

Giovanni sighed. "I am sorry Vieri. Please tell your father that it won't happen again."

Ezio snorted. "Like Francesco de Pazzi even cares."

"Watch your tongue!" Vieri snapped, forcing himself not to attack Ezio. "My father does care for Felisa."

Giovanni put a hand on his son's shoulder and pulled him back. "I think we should probably head back now, Vieri. Have a nice evening."

Vieri didn't reply, instead going inside to make sure Felisa had actually gone to bed.

She hadn't, of course.

"Felisa, I thought you agreed to…"

"I said I'd go inside. I didn't say I'd…" She was cut off by a rough coughing fit and Vieri looked at her, concerned. It took a few moments but the coughing ceased and he hugged her tightly.

"Go get some rest," he said.

She nodded, looking entirely worn out. Before she got to the end of the hall she paused.

"I should have listened to you about the Auditores. I'm sorry."

He smiled sadly. "It is fine. I should have known you'd be curious."

"I love you, brother."

"I love you too," he replied. "Goodnight."

She yawned. "Goodnight."

* * *

><p><strong>1500<strong>

The battle did not last long. The civilians fled the city while some of the assassins and mercenaries stayed to fight, but they were far outnumbered and were forced to retreat.

Felisa cleaned the blood off her blade as she made her way back to the gates where Cesare stood waiting with most of the others. He had a golden orb of some sort in his hands. She wasn't sure what it was, but didn't really care. It seemed to make Cesare happy though. Luca caught up to her and they stood together listening to their leader's speech.

"Brothers! This is but the first victory of many! Now we return to Rome and wait for the assassins to make their next move," Cesare yelled out to his men. "If the cowards even show their faces again after today." There were cheers from the soldiers at the insult against the assassins.

Felisa snorted and sheathed her blade. "If you ever do something so foolish as to underestimate your enemies, Luca, I will kill you myself."

"You think Cesare foolish?" he asked, looking over to her, some confusion in his eyes. "I thought you liked him."

She rolled her eyes. "He is what he is. He…" Her voice trailed off as she saw Cesare approach them.

"I'm gonna go now," Luca mumbled and wandered off, leaving Felisa alone and a little confused.

"Felisa! Are you ready to return to Rome?" Cesare asked, smiling.

She shook her head. "Actually Cesare, I was hoping to make a small visit back to San Gimignano before meeting you back in Rome."

Cesare frowned. "What business do you have there?"

"It is a personal matter. I will only be gone briefly."

He nodded, although he looked displeased. "Very well then. I will see you when you arrive in Rome. Good luck doing whatever it is you'll be doing."

Cesare walked off back towards his captains while she went to get her horse from the stable. Luca was already there giving Bella Mia water.

"Hey, why'd you walk off like that?" she asked.

He turned around to face her. "I didn't mean to leave so suddenly. I just get nervous around Cesare. He may be nice to you, but he really, really, doesn't like me."

"He just doesn't know you," Felisa replied, saddling her horse. "I'm going to San Gimignano before Rome. I'll see you when I get back. Oh, and good job in the battle today. Pietro said you fought bravely."

Luca grinned. "He said that?"

"Yes. He was very impressed." She smiled at him. "See you in Rome."

"See you in Rome."

* * *

><p>"Claudia! Mother!" Ezio exclaimed. "I am glad to see you are alright." They had made it to a safe house nearby, close enough to travel there wounded, but far enough to hopefully avoid being followed.<p>

Claudia looked him over, shaking her head. "You are lucky to be alive, Ezio. With everything that happened you should have died."

"Glad to see you have such faith in me," he remarked dryly.

"Go see a doctor," she replied. "Now."

"Yes, yes, of course." He waved a hand as he walked out the door.

As soon as he stepped out into the open he was nearly knocked over by someone running far too quickly and not paying attention to where they were going.

Ezio caught his balance and looked over at the person who had crashed into him. He rolled his eyes. "What news do you have for me, Luca?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: BOOYAH! Bet you didn't see that one coming. **


	5. You're Going to What!

**1476**

It took Petruccio several hours to find what he was looking for. It looked simple, but in its own way it was beautiful. A medium sized moth, a mottled brown, with a fuzzy body and long antennae. He caught in gently and put it into the small glass jar he had brought. He covered the jar with a thin piece of metal with holes cut into it to allow air in. When he had secured the lid in place he headed back into town.

It was late afternoon and the streets and shops were busy with people bustling to and fro. Petruccio carefully made his way through the crowd, holding the jar close to him. He managed to slip between two people and get out of the mess of people into the courtyard of his destination.

The Pazzi house.

He took a deep breath and walked up to the front door, knocking tentatively. He was hoping Vieri wouldn't answer the door, but apparently today was not going to be his lucky day.

Vieri glared at him. "What the hell do you want?" he snarled, venom clear in his words.

"Uh, I was just, uh, wanting to talk to Felisa," Petruccio mumbled. "I brought a bug."

Vieri gave him a curious look. "Why?"

"I thought she liked bugs."

"She does," Vieri said, still eyeing him suspiciously. "I meant why did you bring her a bug."

"I haven't seen her in town so I thought she must be at home sick and…"

Vieri opened the door wider and motioned for him to come in. As soon as Petruccio walked in Vieri grabbed him and turned the younger boy to face him.

"If you do anything, I mean _anything_, wrong, I will personally beat the shit out of you," he growled, voice low. "Understand, Auditore?"

"Y-yes." Petruccio looked up at him, eyes opened wide in fear.

"Good. Wait here."

Vieri walked out of the room and down the hall, knocking on Felisa's door. She opened it, looking a little confused. "Felisa, Petruccio stopped by to see you."

"Um. Alright," she said and walked back into the room where the Auditore boy was. "Hey."

"Hi. I uh, brought you a bug," he mumbled, holding out the jar with the moth in it.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" she said, looking closely. "I don't have this one. Hey, you want to come see my collection?" she asked.

Petruccio smiled. "Sure." He started to follow her back to her room when he noticed Vieri glaring at him and froze. "Uh, if it's okay with your brother."

Felisa turned around and rolled her eyes. "Brother, you're scaring him."

"Hmph," was all Vieri replied with.

Petruccio walked past him slowly and followed Felisa, feeling much better when they got to her room.

"Sorry if Vieri scared you. He's not really that bad. He's just still mad from Ezio and Federico putting me on the roof." She set the jar with the moth down on a table next to a wooden board with various insects pinned to it. Petruccio regarded it a little nervously.

"It's okay. He just wants to protect you."

Felisa snorted. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she said, annoyed.

"I know," Petruccio replied with a smile. "And he does too I'm sure. But he's your brother and he wants to make sure nothing ever hurts you."

She gave a conceding head nod, turning and picking up a small bottle. Pouring some of the liquid onto a cloth, she placed it into the jar with the moth.

"Are you feeding it?"

"No, that's chloroform. So it'll die faster."

"WHAT?" he yelped and pulled the cloth out of the jar and grabbed the it from her, holding it close to his chest. "You can't kill him!"

She looked at him, complete confusion evident in her eyes. "That's what I always do. It's the easiest way to add them to the boards. Would you rather I pinned him on alive?"

"No! That's terrible! How can you do such a terrible thing?"

Felisa shrugged. "They're bugs. I do it to study them. Leonardo likes to look over them with me whenever I finish a board."

"That's awful!" he said, looking horrified.

Vieri had heard Petruccio from the main room and quickly walked down the hall and into Felisa's room. "What is going on?" he asked, staring pointedly at Petruccio.

"It's fine," Felisa said, putting away the chloroform and cloth. "He just didn't realize I was going to kill the moth."

"I thought you kept them," the young Auditore said quietly, watching Vieri carefully.

"I wouldn't know what to feed them. They all eat different things."

Petruccio didn't break eye contact with Vieri. "I should probably be getting back home now," he muttered uncertainly.

"Yes, you should," Vieri replied coldly.

Petruccio nearly ran out of the room, clutching the jar, but instead forced himself to walk calmly out. As soon as Vieri heard the main door shut he turned to look at Felisa.

"What?" she asked.

He sighed. "How do you get yourself into these strange situations?"

"How was I supposed to know he'd react like that?"

"You couldn't have." He ruffled her hair. "I think you're well enough that you can go into town with me if you want."

"Yes! Of course!"

Vieri smiled at her enthusiasm. "Well, let's go then."

* * *

><p><strong>1500<strong>

When Felisa finished saddling Bella Mia she rode out towards San Gimignano at a trot, not really wanting to hurry to get there. The sooner she got there, the sooner she got to Rome, and she was not extremely excited about seeing Cesare again.

As weird as things were between Cesare and his sister (and that was REALLY weird) he continued to flirt with other women, Felisa included, and she did not appreciate it.

She made it to San Gimignano before nightfall and paid a stable to keep her horse for another day. Slipping quietly into the city, she climbed up onto the walls surrounding the town and made her way over to one of the parapets.

A guard was posted there and she waved to him. "I'm here to take this post until morning. Captain's orders."

The guard didn't even question her on why exactly she was replacing him and instead just left her alone with just the night for company.

The night and memories.

* * *

><p>"Oh, I was looking for you," Luca said, catching his breath.<p>

"Well?" Ezio asked, still slightly annoyed at being run into.

"Cesare is truly heading back to Rome with the Apple. He expects you will follow him, although he acts as if he thinks you are too cowardly to make a move."

Ezio nodded. "What do you know about a Felisa de Pazzi?"

"Uh," Luca started. "She's one of Cesare's top fighters."

"Will she be going back to Rome with him?"

Luca scratched the back of his neck. "Well, actually, she's going to San Gimignano first."

"Hmmm. Do you know why?"

"She didn't say."

Ezio smiled. "You did well Luca. If anything changes be sure to find me and let me know."

Luca started to walk away but paused. "What are you going to do with Felisa?"

"She threatened what family I have left," the assassin replied simply. "I will kill her. It is the only way to ensure their safety."

Luca nodded but didn't say anything else and headed back to the Borgia army, hoping he wasn't missed.

* * *

><p>Ezio arrived at San Gimignano not long after Felisa. The safe house had been nearby and it had only been a couple hours ride. He too, left his horse at the stable, where he noticed a saddle hanging with the Templar insignia. "Signore?" he said to the stablehand, gesturing towards the saddle. "Do you know whose that is?"<p>

"Ah, si signore. She stopped by here not an hour ago."

"Do you know where she went?"

The stablehand shook his head. "No, but she did say she was leaving tomorrow."

"Thank you," Ezio said, smiling at him. "That is truly helpful."

Climbing to the top of a high building, Ezio surveyed his surroundings. He caught a glimpse of someone pacing on top of a parapet, which was unusual for a guard. Normally they were half asleep during night watches.

Deciding it was worth a look, he climbed down off the building and got up on the wall near where he had seen the figure. He was surprised to hear talking.

"I'm sorry it has been so long," the person said.

He recognized the voice immediately as Felisa de Pazzi, who had threatened him and his family earlier that day, but this time there was no venom in her voice.

"It has been hard to get away from Cesare and the Templars long enough to come back here."

Ezio looked around carefully, but was unable to see who she was speaking to.

"I was so close today, brother. So very close."

Ezio felt his blood run cold. But no, that was impossible. Vieri was dead. He had made sure of that. So what was she…

And then it hit him. This was where Vieri had died.

"I almost had Maria and Claudia today, but lost them right at the end. It is frustrating to come so close and still fail. Sometimes I have no idea what to do…" Her voice trailed off. "Twenty years and it still hurts like yesterday."

Ezio walked closer, his assassin training making his footsteps nearly inaudible. He unsheathed his hidden blade, having originally planned to just assassinate her and get it over with, but paused.

"I miss you, brother."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Aw, Petruccio is so adorable. Fight next chapter. Yay, violence! :P**


	6. Just a Kiss on the Cheek

**1476**

"Felisa!"

Felisa spun around in the market, trying to find out who was calling her name.

Petruccio stood at the other end of the square, waving. She gave him a small wave back before trying to hide in the crowd, still feeling somewhat embarrassed after trying to kill his gift. Because apparently that was not what you were supposed to do.

"Hey," he said, somehow managing to find her in the mess of people.

"Hi Petruccio," she replied, not looking at him.

"What's wrong?"

She glanced up briefly. "Aren't you mad that I tried to kill that moth?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Mother explained it to me. She buys paintings from Signore Da Vinci sometimes and told me that she's seen you in there with the bugs before. She said you do it for science not to be cruel."

Felisa smiled, relieved. "Yes, for science. I don't enjoy hurting things. I'm lucky Signore Da Vinci knows many things about insects and teaches me whatever he can. He prefers to study humans though."

"I'm sorry I took the moth away and let it go," Petruccio said sheepishly. "I should've let you explain."

"I understand why you freed it. It's fine." She smiled.

"I can catch you another one," he offered. "There are a lot outside my house at night."

"Nah, it's fine, I can just…" She paused midsentence and started watching something behind him. Petruccio looked around to see what was going on.

"Petruccio, what are you doing with the littlest Pazzi?" Federico asked his youngest brother, walking up to them with Ezio close behind. "Surely this is not you trying to seduce a woman? I've told you to leave that to Ezio and I."

Petruccio's face flushed and he started stumbling over words. "I, uh, no, that's not what… we were just talking…"

Federico laughed. "You are so easy to…"

The eldest Auditore brother didn't get to finish his statement. A rock hit him square in forehead and he reeled back. "Merda!" he shouted and clutched his now bleeding wound. "What was that?" He looked at Petruccio who appeared completely horrified and then over at Ezio who could barely contain his laughter.

"You shouldn't make fun of him, you know," Felisa said angrily, glaring at him. "He's your brother."

Federico's jaw dropped when he realized what happened. The littlest Pazzi had thrown a rock at him.

"Well aren't you brave today," he grumbled, pulling his hand off his head and looking at it to see just how much he was bleeding. It wasn't bad, but it still hurt. "Almost like you've already forgotten about the roof incident."

"Hey!" Petruccio snapped. "Don't threaten her!"

Federico glared at Felisa. "It wasn't a threat," he growled, annoyed. He looked over at Ezio. "Come on Ezio, we should leave him here with his lovely lady friend." He shot another angry look at Felisa before walking off, not waiting to see if Ezio even followed.

Ezio put a hand on Petruccio's shoulder. "Good luck," he said with a wink and ran after Federico.

Petruccio's face expressed just how terribly embarrassed he was and Felisa pitied him. He was a nice guy and his brothers had completely humiliated him.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled, looking down at the ground. "They can be like… that."

"Hey, it's fine," she said. "I should be apologizing for throwing a rock at Federico."

"No, that was well done," Petruccio replied, looking up and grinning. "You have good aim."

"Why thank you," she said with a slight bow. "Just glad I could be of assistance."

Petruccio laughed. "Federico won't soon forget that."

"That's good. Maybe it will teach him some manners."

"I doubt it," he said, laughing again. "He's pretty stubborn."

"Yes he is," someone said, stepping out of the shadows. Felisa grinned when she recognized her brother. Petruccio, however, looked like he wanted to curl up and disappear.

"How long have you been there?" Felisa asked him.

Vieri shrugged. "Long enough. It's getting dark. We should head back."

"Wait a minute," Felisa said to her brother and ran over closer to Petruccio. His face flushed immediately. "Have a good night," she said, giving him a small kiss on the cheek.

"I, uh, you too," the Auditore stammered. Felisa smiled and took off running to Vieri, who was looking half amused and half concerned.

"Now what was THAT?" he asked, ruffling her hair.

"I don't know. What did it look like?" she teased, knowing it would bother him to see her acting so friendly with a boy, and an Auditore boy at that.

"Hmph. You're too good for him."

She rolled her eyes. "It was just a kiss on the cheek, brother. Nothing crazy."

"Well, I know what boys his age are thinking, and…" He paused looking over at her.

"What?" she asked, doing her best to not laugh.

"I'm serious, Fe." Vieri put a hand over his face. "You know what? Go talk to Mother. She can explain all this far better than me."

"Explain what?"

* * *

><p><strong>1500<strong>

"I miss you, brother," Felisa murmured.

Ezio sat down on the wall behind her, just listening for now, deciding on the best plan of action for this crazy situation.

"Sometimes I wonder if I could have stopped him if I would've gotten here just a little bit sooner."

"You seem to overestimate what you were capable of at fourteen years old," Ezio said quietly.

Felisa spun around, drawing her sword. Ezio remained where he was, seated on the wall.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

He shrugged. "Honestly? I'm here to kill you. I'd be willing to rethink that though, on a couple of conditions."

She laughed bitterly. "You say that as though my death is certain if I don't comply."

"Your death will be certain if you don't comply," he responded and stood up. She tensed and held her blade in a defensive position.

"I doubt I'd be as easy to kill as you think."

"Hmmm… one stab to the throat and you'd be dead in moments." He unsheathed his hidden blade.

A snarl formed on her face as she realized what he was referencing. "How dare you," she whispered. "How dare you even bring that up, bastard."

He sheathed his blade and looked at her, gold eyes unreadable. "My conditions are simple. Stay away from my family and leave the Templars."

She laughed again. "You really think I'd do that? Abandon my only goal? And on top of that you want me to leave the only job I have. No, I will make you suffer as I have, losing what family you have left, and then I will continue to slay your assassin brethren after your family is dead."

"What do you think you'll gain from hurting me? I can assure you it won't bring Vieri back."

"I want revenge," she said coldly. "I want revenge for you murdering him. I want revenge for the disrespect you showed him after he was dead. I want revenge for losing everything that mattered to me."

Ezio looked at her sadly. "I am honestly sorry for the disrespect I showed his body. I should not have done that. I let my anger get the best of me." He sighed. "I would take it back if I could. I don't know if that means anything to you, but it is the truth."

Felisa snorted. "You expect me to actually believe that? Believe that the great Ezio Auditore da Firenze actually REGRETS something he's done?"

"I am not the person you once knew, Felisa."

"And neither am I," she said quietly before making a sudden strike at him with her sword.

Vieri's sword, Ezio noticed, as he jumped back to avoid the blade. He unsheathed his hidden blade and moved closer to her.

Felisa watched him carefully, and slashed out again. He once again evaded the attack easily, running past her, and managed to get a strike in of his own. She nearly avoided it, but his blade cut into her shoulder as he passed her. She snarled in pain, spinning to face him again.

"You killed my brother, my father, my great uncle, and my mother. Whatever living family I had left was imprisoned, whether or not they had been involved in the conspiracy. I was forced to flee to keep my freedom. Do you know what I had to do to survive? Do you realize the measures I had to take? Because I don't think you do."

"I did not harm your mother," he said quietly. "And the imprisonment was not my decision."

"Didn't harm my mother? When you killed my father you killed her heart. She slit her own throat days later."

Ezio regarded her sadly. She was so angry. He had been there. He knew what she was feeling. He didn't want to kill her. He did not like killing women in general, but even less her. She truly had already suffered greatly. He did not regret killing her family, his family's murderers, his targets, but he did regret how much she had suffered because of their deaths.

"Felisa, I have no wish to harm you." Ezio sheathed his blade. "Please, don't make me."

Shouting was coming from a ways down the wall. Guards no doubt, alerted to their presence.

Felisa glared at him. "This is not over Ezio Auditore da Firenze, not by a long shot." She took two steps back and vanished over the edge of the wall.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Aren't little Petruccio and little Felisa so adorable? :3**


	7. My Fault

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. Figured it was better than nothing, right?**

* * *

><p><strong>1476<strong>

"Federico, what happened to your head?" Giovanni asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

His son muttered curses under his breath before responding. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

Federico put a hand over his face. "Well…" he started.

"Little Pazzi threw a rock at him!" Ezio interrupted, laughing.

"I'm sure you deserved it, Federico," Giovanni said before turning away to finish writing a letter addressed to Uberto. "Where is Petruccio?"

"Still talking with his girlfriend, no doubt," Federico grumbled, only causing Ezio to laugh more.

Giovanni froze. "What girlfriend?" he asked. "I swear if I find out either one of you have taken him to a…"

"No! It's not my fault!" Federico practically yelped. "I didn't try to get him with the Pazzi!"

Giovanni sighed. "Felisa de Pazzi?"

"No, Vieri," his eldest son replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Giovanni ignored his sarcasm. "So you just left Petruccio with Felisa? What do you think Vieri would do to him if he found Petruccio and Felisa talking alone?"

"Uh, no, we didn't consider that," Ezio mumbled.

A knock came at the door and Giovanni stood and opened it, relieved to see Petruccio.

"Hello, Father," he said, grinning.

"Someone's happy," Giovanni remarked, hiding a smile of his own.

Petruccio started to walk up the stairs to his room but Federico hopped in front of him.

"Now, you can't expect us to not ask what happened after we left," he said.

"We talked and then Vieri showed up and she left." Petruccio attempted to sidestep his brother but failed.

"You're leaving something out."

Petruccio shook his head quickly, not responding.

Ezio got up next to Federico. "What is wrong, Petruccio? Cat got your tongue?"

"N-no."

Giovanni waved at them to get out of Petruccio's way. "Leave him be," he said, trying not to laugh. The older brothers moved and Petruccio started to continue up the stairs when his father stopped him. "Petruccio?"

"Y-yes, Father?" he stammered.

"Do not let your brothers corrupt you. Federico messed up Ezio bad enough and I'd like to have at least one son who doesn't constantly chase skirts."

"Uh, ye-yes. Of co-course." Petruccio hurried the rest of the way to his room and quickly went inside and shut the door.

Federico and Ezio glared at their father.

"We do not constantly chase skirts," Ezio grumbled.

Giovanni just laughed and went back to writing.

* * *

><p><strong>1500<strong>

Felisa rested her head in Bella Mia's mane, paused for a moment a little off the road, waiting for some people to pass. She never liked having anyone behind her, and much less knowing that there was an assassin whose family she had threatened nearby.

Strangely, Ezio had seemed less angry and more concerned, which is not what she had expected. The last time anyone hurt his family he hunted down everyone involved. He had gone from a banker's son to a killer overnight.

Well, in truth, he had gone from an assassin's son to a killer overnight, so maybe it wasn't that strange after all.

"I really don't want to go to Roma just yet," Felisa whispered to her horse. Bella Mia just snorted in response and Felisa smiled, rubbing the mare's neck. "Cesare is, isn't he?" She chuckled and clicked her tongue and the duo set back down the path.

* * *

><p>Ezio waited an hour before going to get his horse from the stable, not wanting to risk another run in with Felisa. He'd give her one last chance to change her mind before ending his problems with one swift and fatal cut to the throat.<p>

"To Roma," he murmured and heeled his horse into a trot.

* * *

><p>It wasn't her first time to visit their graves. She had followed Ezio there after he had saved their bodies from being dumped in the river to give them a proper burial and had revisited more times, although it had been almost fifteen years since her last visit.<p>

She always brought something for each of them when she came. To a stranger it may have seemed a little weird, but each of them meant something to her in their own way and she still fought her own sense of guilt for their deaths.

Federico Auditore may have dragged her onto the roof with Ezio, but he had made up for it later. She pulled a tile from her pocket and placed it at the foot of the grave. She had taken it from a rooftop on the way to their graves. "Finally got over my fear of heights, stronzo," she muttered. "Thanks for the initial push."

"You were the only person other than Vieri to ever have protected me, Signore Auditore." She held her gift for him, a small wooden eagle, spinning it in her hand. "Your sons all had your eagle eyes, although they all spoke different things." She set down the eagle.

"Petruccio," she murmured, smiling sadly. "I…" She stopped, trying to fight back tears. "I'm so sorry." She sat down in the grass, taking a feather from her pack. "Someday I know I'll see you again. I just hope you can forgive me for all I've done…" She was crying now, unable to hold back the pain she kept inside. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "It's my fault you're dead."

* * *

><p>Cesare smiled widely when he saw Felisa had returned from San Gimignano. "Felisa! How was your detour?"<p>

Felisa was more than a little distracted when Cesare began talking to her. "Wait, what, Cesare?" she asked, but her thoughts were clearly still elsewhere.

"I asked how things went in San Gimingnano," he said, sounding irritated.

"Oh, that went fine." She unconsciously touched her shoulder where Ezio had managed to get in a cut and Cesare looked at her, surprised.

"You're injured," he said slowly. "You should go see a doctor."

"Hmmm? Oh, yes. I suppose so."

She started to walk away when Cesare put a hand on her arm. "Come see me when you're done. We have much to talk about."

Felisa nodded absentmindedly and continued back into the city. She knew right where the doctor was. She'd been there plenty of times before for battle injuries and other health problems. Her childhood illness sometimes bothered her still and she made a point to know where the doctors in the different towns were.

"Felisa!" the doctor greeted her. He shook his head when he saw her injury. "Tsk, tsk, signora. What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she muttered and he laughed.

"I hear strange tales every day. I doubt yours would be the strangest I've heard."

She followed him back into his shop and he motioned for her to sit while he went to grab supplies. He came back with a needle and thread, much to her displeasure. She closed her eyes when she felt the needle hit her skin and sucked in a breath.

"Breathe, Felisa," he said with a chuckle. "You'll die if you don't."

She was silent until he tied the knot off at the end.

"Here," she said, placing a few coins on the table. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem, signora. Come back anytime."

After she left the shop she meandered around the city for a while before heading back to speak with Cesare.


	8. Dinner With the Auditores

**1476**

"Dinner? With the Auditores? No, absolutely not," Vieri said, shaking his head. Felisa glared at him, something she did not often do, and he closed his eyes. "Felisa… Father will never agree to let you go."

"You really think Father will care?" she asked, anger in her voice. "He doesn't seem to even know I exist." She turned to walk away but Vieri stopped her.

"Felisa," he said softly. "I know it may look like Father is ignoring you but he isn't. He loves you just as he loves me, he just… doesn't make it obvious." He pulled her into a tight hug. "Besides, you've got me. You know I love you right?"

"If you loved me, you wouldn't suffocate me," she grumbled and he let go.

Vieri looked at her resignedly. "Okay, tell you what. You can go, IF, I go with you."

"Federico and Ezio would rather kill you than eat dinner with you."

"Do you want to have dinner with Petruccio or not?"

"Yes," Felisa replied, already thinking of ways to convince Petruccio that Vieri would not cause trouble with his brothers.

"Then you'll figure something out. You're smart," he said, ruffling her hair.

* * *

><p>"Petruccio!" Felisa shouted, running over to him in the market. He looked up, surprised, and then grinned.<p>

"Hey! So what did your father say?" he asked.

"Well… Father doesn't exactly know, but he doesn't pay attention anyways. But Vieri said I could go, but on one condition."

"What's that?"

"He comes with me." She waited for a shocked response but Petruccio just looked at her thoughtfully.

"I bet Father would let him come, if he agreed to not cause trouble," he said. "I'll ask him. See you here tomorrow?"

"Sure."

* * *

><p>"Petruccio, I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Giovanni said quietly. Vieri and your brothers eating dinner together? That's just a disaster waiting to happen."<p>

"But Father, Vieri would never do anything to cause problems for Felisa and I'm sure Federico and Ezio can control themselves for a couple hours," Petruccio protested.

Giovanni sighed. "I'm not sure you understand what trouble you might be getting us into."

"Isn't it at least worth trying?" his son asked.

"I'll go talk to your brothers about it. Don't get your hopes up though, Petruccio."

Felisa stood on the doorstep of the Auditore home, grinning like a bobcat. Vieri was a couple steps behind her, a little more apprehensive and feeling quite uncomfortable without his sword that Felisa had insisted he leave at home.

Petruccio greeted them and Vieri did his best not to glare at the boy. He didn't like an Auditore being around Felisa and definitely not an Auditore boy. Luckily, Petruccio seemed completely oblivious to whatever threats Vieri was communicating silently as he let them into the house.

Much to the surprise of all present, the eldest Pazzi managed to not react when he saw Federico and Ezio. He was still extremely unhappy about the roof incident but forced himself to put it aside and let Felisa enjoy the night. He had no intention of messing this up for her.

But sometimes the unintended happens. This was one of those times.

Dinner started well enough. Felisa introduced herself to both female Auditores who she hadn't yet met. Politics and other such topics were avoided and instead there was a large discussion on Felisa's bug collecting and Petruccio's feather collecting, which he still would not explain the purpose of.

When Felisa got started talking about her insect collection it was hard to get her to stop. Vieri listened and watched the reactions of the others at the table. Federico, Giovanni, and Maria seemed amused by her antics while Claudia seemed somewhat disturbed. Ezio's expression was unreadable as he watched her silently from across the table.

"So what are your plans for the future?" Giovanni asked Vieri, still smiling from listening to Felisa ramble on about insects.

"I plan on staying in the family business," Vieri said simply and calmly. He had kept himself in check throughout the whole meal, something Felisa was very pleased about.

They had almost made it through dinner. Almost. But Ezio couldn't resist the chance to throw a jab at Vieri.

"Just so long as your family can keep itself out of suspicious circumstances, the family business should do just fine, Vieri," Ezio said, the insinuation to the rumors about his father's involvement in a murder thinly veiled.

"What are you suggesting, Ezio?" Vieri replied coldly, glaring at him.

The young Auditore shrugged. "Just that both your parents have a knack for getting themselves into… interesting circumstances."

"Ezio," Giovanni said warningly. "Drop it."

Vieri was still staring at Ezio, a snarl on his face. Felisa touched his arm and he looked down at her, calming some.

"We're leaving," he said quietly and stood up from the table. Felisa got up to follow her brother with an apologetic look at Petruccio who appeared thoroughly horrified by the entire situation.

"Sorry," she mumbled and followed Vieri out. At first no one else left the table and instead an uncomfortable silence just fell upon all present but Petruccio soon got up and silently left, heading upstairs.

* * *

><p>"Vieri," Felisa said softly. "What was he talking about?"<p>

"Nothing." Her brother put an arm around her. "He was just trying to get at me."

"If it was nothing you wouldn't be so bothered."

Vieri sighed and sat down on a bench in the deserted market square. Felisa sat next to him and watched him deliberate on what to tell her. "Felisa, there are those who are accusing Father of some very terrible things right now. He didn't do anything wrong, but people are talking none the less."

"Ezio said both our parents."

At this Vieri visibly flinched. "Mother has been accused of some things as well. But it doesn't matter."

"What are people saying about them?"

"It doesn't matter. Come now, we should be getting home."

She didn't ask anything more and just followed him in silence, questions swirling in her head.

* * *

><p><strong>1500<strong>

Felisa had slowly made her way out of town back to where she had last seen Cesare, but he was no longer there, probably due to the long amount of time that Felisa had been gone. She sighed and headed into the castle to find him.

She ran into Lucrezia first, who fixed her with a death glare. "Do you know where I can find Cesare?" she asked calmly, trying to ignore the clear jealousy in his sister's eyes.

_ That is so messed up, _Felisa thought with a small shudder.

"He was in the courtyard earlier. Perhaps you should check there," the woman replied haughtily, practically storming off. Felisa rolled her eyes.

He was still in the courtyard, sparring with another Templar. She stayed back to let them finish, not surprised when Cesare nearly ran the other man through with his sword. When they had finished, Cesare looked up an noticed her, motioning for her to come.

"You wanted to speak with me," she said simply.

He smiled in that creepy way he always did, a strange look getting into his eyes. "Ah, the Wolf returns from her long trip to the doctor. I hope that went well."

"Fine, thank you."

"Yes, so, I wanted to ask you about Luca."

Felisa felt herself slowly getting defensive. "What about him?" she asked, forcing herself to keep her tone even. Luca had mentioned earlier that Cesare did not like him, but she had just thought he was over sensitive and it was nothing. The look in Cesare's eyes made it clear that he did have some sort of problem with the boy.

"Do you know how he joined the Templars?"

She blinked, confused for a moment. "Well, yes, his father was once a Templar before he was killed in a skirmish. He was just following in his father's footsteps."

"Does he ever talk about his father?"

"No, but I never ask him about his father either. He doesn't like to talk about family matters, but he's hardly the only one to avoid such topics. Why do you ask?"

"I've talked to my father and he has no recollection of Luca's father." Cesare looked her straight in the eye. "Are you sure his father was a Templar?"

Felisa's eyes narrowed. "He has no reason to lie. I trust him. If he says his father was a Templar then I believe it to be true."

"Can you keep a close eye on him for me?"

"Why?" Felisa knew it was dangerous to question Cesare, but she wasn't about to just let such a strange request slide by with no questions.

"He disappeared for a while after the last battle and there have been… other things. Just take tomorrow to train with him and ask him some questions."

"I can assure you there's nothing wrong. He's a loyal Templar. You should have seen how nervous but excited he was for the battle."

Cesare shrugged, frowning slightly. "You are probably right. Just please look into it for me."

Felisa nodded and Cesare smiled again. "Good," he said. "Now, I also wanted to speak with you about a dinner that my father is hosting. It is expected for me to bring a guest and I was wondering if you would join me."

"That would be wonderful," Felisa replied, forcing warmth into her voice. She knew she had no choice in the matter and it was best to just give in easily.

"Perfect! It is in two days' time. Until then, you should probably get some rest, dear Wolf. You look like you need it."

She nodded again. Her side trip had worn her out physically and mentally. "I do."

* * *

><p>She decided to practice some with her sword before she went inside for the night. There was little room inside the barracks to do anything and it bothered her to be so closed in. Her shoulder ached but she forced herself to keep at it. Finally, when she had had enough, she sat down in the grass and relaxed for a moment.<p>

That moment was short lived. Luca soon came running up to see her.

"Felisa!"

She groaned internally. Of course he had to bother her right now.

"What is it, Luca?" She tried to keep from sounding distant. Luca was just looking for company.

"I'm just glad to see you're okay," he said, smiling.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

He looked at the ground. "Well, you left kind of quickly and I was worried that you would still be too worn out from the battle to do whatever you needed to do."

"I can assure you I can take care of myself. You're the one that needs to be careful. Cesare thinks you're acting suspiciously. He said you disappeared for a while after the battle."

Luca didn't look up and shuffled his foot in the grass. "I…"

"What were you doing, Luca?"

"I followed you," he mumbled.

Felisa glared at him. "How far?"

"Only a couple miles, I swear!" He looked up. "I'm sorry. I was just worried."

Felisa sighed. Perhaps Manuel was right. He was a little lost puppy. "I appreciate the concern, Luca, but don't do that again. I like my privacy, okay?"

The boy nodded quickly and she sighed. "We have training together tomorrow. You've really made Cesare nervous."

Luca looked afraid for a moment and Felisa almost wished she hadn't said anything. But it needed to be said. Luca needed to know that he couldn't just act strangely and expect no one to notice or be suspicious.

"Get some rest," she said softer, ruffling his hair. "You'll need it. We meet here at dawn."

Luca sighed. "Does it have to be dawn?"

Felisa gave him and stern glare.

"Dawn sounds wonderful," he mumbled and Felisa couldn't help but laugh out loud.


	9. Friends and Traitors

**1476**

Vieri couldn't figure out why Felisa was getting sicker. She had stayed mostly inside since the dinner at the Auditore's and hadn't been doing any of the things that normally set off her coughing spurts.

Yet she was sitting in the chair, coughing again. He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. She coughed a couple more times into his chest before wrapping her arms around him tightly. She started shaking badly and he pulled away to look at her. She looked down and avoided his eyes but he could tell she was crying.

"Felisa, what's wrong?" he asked softly.

"Am… am I going to die?" She looked up, tears in her eyes.

"No," he replied certainly. "You're not going to die. Not any time soon."

"How can you know that?"

Vieri smiled. "Because I'm older and smarter than you," he teased.

"Are not," she argued, mock glaring at him.

He ruffled her hair and she relaxed some. "Why would you think that, Felisa?"

"Sometimes I just feel like I'm dying," she whispered.

"I promise you're going to be okay."

"Is Father going to be okay?" she asked.

Vieri nodded but looked unsure and Felisa closed her eyes.

"Are you sure what they're saying about Father is a lie?"

"Felisa!" He looked down at her, surprised. "Of course it is! Father would never…"

"But how do you know that?"

"I just… I just do." Vieri sighed.

"Why would they lie?"

"Because it is Giovanni Auditore. Dinner with them does not solve our problems, Felisa. He still hates our family."

"He doesn't seem to hate me."

Vieri shook his head. "That's because you are impossible to hate."

"Hmph. I still think he's nice."

* * *

><p>Felisa moved as quietly as she could to sneak out of the house. It was past midnight and Vieri was asleep. She wasn't sure where her mother was, but she didn't really care at the moment. It just made it easier for her to get out.<p>

She walked down the silent streets, trying to keep to the shadows. Sometimes there were other people out at night, and often they were not the type of people she was used to being around. The courtesan women gave her strange looks that she tried to ignore, but it was difficult. She supposed it was unusual for a thirteen year old girl to wander the streets at night so they were probably just confused.

Petruccio was where he always was. They met behind his house almost every night. Vieri hadn't let her out of his sight since the dinner and it had been impossible to get out and see him during the day. She knew her brother just wanted to protect her, but it was hard to not be annoyed. Petruccio was perfectly nice and the only friend she had besides Vieri.

After the evening they saw each other in the town square and Felisa apologized for trying to kill his moth they had met regularly during the daytime. They had become close over that time, although Petruccio never dared go anywhere near the Pazzi home.

Seeing him was the highlight of her day. They talked about anything and everything. He was the only other person who she could talk to about being sick who would understand. He listened to her ramble about her bugs and she listened to him talk about his feathers and they were both perfectly content.

Sometimes they didn't talk. They just played cards or drew in the sandy patch. It didn't really matter. What mattered was that they had someone besides family to be with, someone who understood them and was always happy to see them.

Petruccio was drawing in the sand with a stick when she got there. He had sketched out what looked like an eagle with its wings spread. She smiled. "Where did you learn to draw like that?" she asked.

The boy nearly jumped when she came up behind him. It took a moment for him to gather his nerves. "I, uh, I just practice," he responded.

She sat next to him and watched as he rubbed over the eagle and started drawing a church. "You're very talented," she said. "Do you ever paint?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't really do much drawing except for in the sand here at night."

"Why not?"

"I don't like to draw with other people around."

She tilted her head. "You draw around me."

"You're different," he said, smiling. "You don't make me nervous."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

He laughed. "It is."

He finished the church and paused to admire his sand drawing. Felisa wasn't lying when she had called him talented. He was more artistic than he let on.

"You should spend some time with Signore Da Vinci. I bet he could teach you."

"I'm fine with this."

"But don't you wish you could draw something you could keep?" she asked.

He thought about it for a moment. "No, not really. I do it because it makes me feel better, not because I want a piece of art."

They sat in silence for a while, Petruccio thinking about what to draw next and Felisa trying to find a way to word her next question.

"Are the things your father is saying about mine true?"

He frowned. "I would think so. My father isn't one to lie."

"That would mean mine is a murderer."

"It might. Or my father could be mistaken."

She sighed. "I hope so. I hope that it all gets worked out right."

"Hey, it'll be fine, I'm sure of it. If Father is wrong he'll figure it out."

She nodded and smiled weakly. Thinking of another question she turned back to look at him. "Do you know what a bastard is?"

"Yes?" he replied, confusion in his voice. "Why?"

"What is it?"

"Well," he started, pausing. "It's someone whose parents weren't married before they were born."

"Oh." She looked at the ground.

"Why?"

"I just heard someone say it the other day and was wondering."

"It's not a very nice word to use."

She laughed softly. "I kind of picked that up from the context it was used in."

Petruccio watched her carefully but didn't ask anything else. He figured if she wanted to talk about it she would.

Felisa yawned and stretched. "I should probably go back home now. I'm tired. Meet here tomorrow?"

The boy nodded and smiled. "Sure."

They both stood up and he scuffled his foot in the sand to erase the drawing of the church. She turned to walk away but he stopped her.

"Uh, Felisa?"

She turned back around. "Yeah?"

"Can I uh, kiss you?"

Felisa smiled. "Sure."

He kissed her gently, trying his best not to blush. Felisa couldn't hide her shyness in the matter and turned even darker than he did. Neither of them had ever really kissed anyone before and it was an awkward but happy moment between the two.

She smiled and hugged him, face still bright red. "Thanks, Petruccio. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Felisa."

It wasn't a big thing, just a small kiss on the lips, but they both left feeling on top of the world. Petruccio for being brave enough to ask and Felisa for knowing that just because she was sick didn't mean that no one would ever want her romantically.

* * *

><p><strong>1500<strong>

Strangely enough, Luca found himself waiting for Felisa at dawn. He had thought she would be up before him and had hurried to make sure to be on time, but he hadn't seen her since he'd gotten up. The sun had already risen and several other Borgia soldiers were out practicing, including Manuel.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little runt, Luca," the older man said walking over to where Luca stood alone.

"I don't know what your problem is with me, but could you just leave me alone?" he said angrily.

Manuel laughed. "Well someone's in a foul mood." He gave the younger man a small shove. "Let's spar. You win, and I'll leave you alone."

"I'm not in the mood, Manuel. I've got training with Felisa."

Manuel laughed again. "Then where is she?"

"Right here," Felisa snarled, walking up behind Manuel. "Now get lost, stronzo."

"Such a nasty attitude from such a nice looking woman," he responded with a sigh.

"I said get lost."

He shrugged. "I heard you. See you two later then."

Felisa was happy to see him walk off and turned back to Luca. "What do you do to make these people dislike you so much?"

"I didn't do anything," he protested.

She coughed roughly and it took a moment for her to catch her breath. "Sorry I'm late. I overslept. I'm not feeling too well either so it might be a short day."

"You sure you shouldn't rest more? I mean, two run ins with Ezio Auditore and…"

"What?" she asked, her voice somewhere between a snarl and a whisper.

"I mean…"

"How do you know that?"

"Well, um, the first time I know because Manuel said you were sent after him."

She stared at him, her expression unreadable. "And the second time?"

"I, uh…" he started but trailed off.

She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the main training area into a more secluded spot. "Luca, what is going on?"

"Nothing! I just…"

"You just what? Followed me all the way to San Gimignano?"

He was shaking badly. "No, I mean yes, well…"

Felisa's expression softened and she seemed to be more worried than anything else. "What's going on Luca?"

He looked up at her, gold eyes filled with worry and fear.

"I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Felisa! I really am! I didn't mean for him to try and kill you! It's just he's…"

Felisa watched him carefully. "You told Ezio that I was going to San Gimignano."

"Yes," he whispered and looked down at the ground.

"Why were you reporting to Ezio?"

He didn't, couldn't, meet her gaze. "I've been working for the assassins for a few months. I just… I don't agree with the Pope and Cesare. They've done some things that should never have been done. The assassins are doing what's right for the people and…"

"Enough," the woman said, softly but strongly. "You've betrayed the Templars. I have no choice but to report it to Cesare."

"You don't agree with Cesare either, Felisa! You could…"

"Enough," she repeated. "What I believe is beyond the point. Cesare will be involved with business matters until noon. I will wait and report to him then."

"Thank you," Luca said.

"Don't thank me," she replied coldly. "You are a traitor, Luca. If I see you again I will kill you."

"Felisa…"

"Go!" she snarled shoving him roughly in the chest. "Get out of here before I decide to kill you here and now!"

With one last look back, his gold eyes apologizing for what he had done, Luca slunk off into the woods.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Don't worry, you've not seen the end of Luca. **

**Next chapter though will be the Auditore execution. :( I really don't want to write that scene.**

**I'm dreading that and the scene where Felisa finds out her brother was involved in their deaths. **

**Every time I get an email with a review or that someone put the story on alert I smile. Thanks for reading guys. :)**

**I love Felisa and Petruccio. Adorableness is adorable.**


	10. Harsh Truth

**A/N: No execution in this chapter. Too much had to happen first. Next chapter then. Enjoy!**

**Edit: I uh, edited some stuff. A lot of stuff. Federico and Felisa's conversation is much better now and some other stuff. Lots of stuff. Stuffstuffstuff.**

* * *

><p><strong>1476<strong>

Felisa heard about the fight with the Auditores the day after it happened.

It was the baker who told her. A month had passed since the dinner with the Auditores and Vieri had finally started letting her out of his sight. He seemed to think she had forgotten about Petruccio, who she was still sneaking out to see every night.

"Felisa, how is your brother today?" the man asked, picking out a loaf of bread.

She gave him a funny look. "He's fine. Why are you asking?"

"There was a fight between the Auditores and your brother and his men. Sounds like it got pretty nasty."

Felisa rolled her eyes. "Who started it this time?"

"Who knows," he responded, laughing.

Felisa smiled and paid with a few coins. "I guess I'll have to ask him. Thanks for the bread."

"Of course, Felisa. Take care."

"Another fight with the Auditores, brother?" Felisa commented when she walked inside with the bread.

"They insulted Father," he grumbled.

"And I'm sure you insulted their family as well." She walked a circle around him, inspecting him for injuries.

"Well?" he asked.

"I'm glad to see you're okay. I worry when you do stupid things."

He rolled his eyes. "You know, you can be very condescending sometimes."

"If you don't want me to point out your stupidity, don't be stupid," she responded, yawning.

He ruffled her hair. "Why are you so tired nowadays?"

"I don't know."

He sighed. "Get some rest. If I'm gone when you wake up, don't worry. I've got some matters to deal with but I'll be back by morning."

She nodded, secretly relieved to know he'd be out that night as well. "Try not to cause more trouble, brother."

He snorted. "Tell that to Ezio and Federico Auditore."

* * *

><p>Felisa ended up working on pinning more insects on her boards rather than sleeping and was still tired when she went to see Petruccio that night. She smiled when she saw him drawing in the sand again and sat down, picking up a stick of her own. She drew a small design absentmindedly, shivering when the wind picked up.<p>

"Cold?"

Felisa shrugged. "Forgot to bring something warmer to wear."

He took off his cloak and put it on her shoulders. She started to protest but he stopped her.

"I'll go grab something else if I get cold," he said.

"Thanks," she murmured.

They drew in the sand for a couple hours, just enjoying each other's company. Felisa was slowly starting to fall asleep and leaned on Petruccio, using his shoulder as a pillow. He smiled and let her rest, leaning back against the side of his house.

They both ended up falling asleep and sleeping through the night. The sun woke Felisa up first and she slowly began to take in her surroundings before panicking and floundering around, getting to her feet.

Petruccio nearly jumped, startled. "Wha…?"

Felisa handed Petruccio back his cloak, turning a bright shade of pink. "I… I need to get home. Vieri will be worried."

"Damn right I was worried, Felisa," a voice said angrily. She watched as Vieri turned the corner around to the back of the house. "I've been looking for you for two hours."

Petruccio stood up and immediately defended her. "It was my fault, Messer Pazzi. I convinced her to…"

"Shut up, runt!" Vieri spat. He turned to Felisa. "Go home, Felisa. Now."

"Vieri," Felisa started, but her brother gave her a glare that left no room for protest.

She turned to walk away but stopped when she saw Vieri move to attack Petruccio. Her brother hit him in the stomach, hard, and the younger boy staggered backwards.

Felisa immediately jumped in between them before Vieri could hit her friend again. "Vieri!" she yelled. "What are you doing?"

Vieri stared at her and then at Petruccio who was cowering away from them. He shook his head, as though trying to clear it.

"Petruccio," he said slowly. "Stay away from my sister and we won't have a problem. There, is that better Felisa?" His question had more than a tinge of sarcasm in it.

"No! No it's not!" She glared up at him, tears in her eyes. "He's my friend, Vieri."

The anger that her brother had seemingly fought down came out again. "He is not your friend! He is an Auditore!"

"Is everything okay, here?" someone asked and Vieri spun around to see Giovanni Auditore watching the situation carefully, golden eyes giving nothing away.

"It will be fine if you get your runt son to stay away from my sister!" Vieri snarled in response, taking a step towards the other man.

Giovanni stood his ground and glanced over at his still terrified son, motioning for him to come over. Petruccio moved quickly to get behind his father. Giovanni nodded at Vieri. "He will not bother her again, Messer Pazzi," he said quietly, almost sadly.

"He wasn't bothering me!" Felisa protested. "I came here to see him! He didn't follow me or harass me! We're friends!"

"Enough," Vieri hissed and she looked down at the ground. "We're going home. Now." He led the way out of the alley and she followed, not even looking up or saying goodbye to her friend.

* * *

><p>Their mother wasn't home, as per usual, when they got there and Vieri pulled her into the main room, sitting her down on the couch while he sat in a chair nearby.<p>

"Unbelievable," he muttered, glaring at her. "Father is in jail and now you decide to cause even more problems for our family."

"I didn't do anything to cause a problem!"

"Yes you did! Do you have any idea what I've had to do to protect you thus far? When Father gets out of jail, you'll be out of here for good and there's nothing I can do about it!"

"Why?" she demanded, hands clenching into fists.

"Because you're a bastard!" Vieri yelled and Felisa flinched away, shrinking into the couch. "Because you were never supposed to exist! Because every time he sees you he's reminded of Mother's disloyalty to him!"

Felisa slowly curled up into a ball on the couch, trying to keep herself somewhat together, but failing at it. She tried to hold back her tears but let out a choked sob into her knees. She knew what he said was true. She had known for a while, but had just tried to ignore it.

Vieri suddenly looked horrified at what he said. "Felisa," he whispered. "Felisa, that's not…"

"It's the truth," she managed to say through her tears.

He stood up and walked over to her, sitting next to her. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, rubbing her back gently. "I didn't mean…"

"Go away!" she shouted at him, pulling away. "Don't you think you've done enough? You've already taken away my only friend! Besides, things would be easier for you if I was gone so don't even pretend like you want me here!"

She got up and ran out the door into the streets, not paying attention to where she was going and just running. She stumbled into a guard who pushed her out of the way and she fell down onto the ground, not bothering to get back up.

"Hey," someone said softly, shaking her. "You okay, kid?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled and started to get to her feet, looking up to see who was talking to her. She was surprised to see Federico Auditore, looking at her with concern as he helped her to her feet.

"I'm sorry that things went so poorly for you today," he said, picking a leaf out of her hair. "If it makes you feel better, Petruccio is fine, just a little sore in the stomach."

She smiled weakly. "That's good."

"You going to be okay?" he asked.

"I'll be fine. I just needed… I needed to get out of the house for a little while."

Federico nodded. "Just be careful where you wander."

She snorted. "You sound like my…" she paused in the middle of her words and closed her eyes, fighting back tears again.

"Hey, it's okay," he said. "Please don't cry. I don't know what to do when women cry."

"You should. You and Ezio are the ones breaking all their hearts."

"Hey now," he grumbled, although there was a good-natured tone to his words.

"The ladies say you make up for it in bed though."

"Merda! Where do you hear these things!" Federico covered his face, suprisingly red with embarassment.

"Mostly Petruccio told me what he hears from the ladies when they're around."

Federico groaned. "So he hears all this stuff too?"

She nodded.

He slowly seemed to come to terms with the fact that his littlest brother's best friend was perfectly aware of his usual behavior and began to grin, a wonderful comment coming to mind. "Well, I guess if both me and Ezio are pretty good it must run in the family. Get lucky yourself with Petruccio and we'll find out if he's like his brothers."

Felisa stared at him in horror and he laughed.

"I tease, little Pazzi. You are far too young to be thinking about boys like that."

She frowned. "I am plenty old enough to think what I like."

He laughed again. "You think that now, but believe me, you have a long way to go before you become a woman. Enjoy your childhood. It is a good time. I know sometimes things are rough, especially with family, but Vieri will cool down soon. He'll listen to you once he's calmer."

"I hope so," she said quietly.

"He will. I'm sure of it."

The Auditore hugged Felisa and she squirmed. "What are you doing?" she asked, but her voice was muffled in his shirt.

"I'm apologizing for the roof incident."

"It's a weird way to apologize," she muttered and he let go, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eye.

"You are Petruccio's girlfriend. I think it would be good if we were on better terms."

She rolled her eyes. "You just said that I was too young to be thinking about boys like that."

"And you just told me you _are_ old enough, little Pazzi," he replied, smirking. "Now run along and enjoy the beautiful day. Go home once you feel better and talk to your brother. He's ill-tempered, but I know he loves you. A brother would do anything to protect his sister. He's only trying to do what's best for you and your family."

"I'm only his half-sister and he hates Petruccio only because he's your father's son," she mumbled, looking at the ground.

Federico smiled sadly and ruffled her hair. "It does not matter. You are his sister none-the-less and someday Petruccio will prove that he is really a good friend and cares about you and Vieri will have to take notice."

"Have a good afternoon Messer Auditore," Felisa said, smiling. "Tell Petruccio I'm sorry for what happened and that I'll see him again soon."

* * *

><p><strong>1500<strong>

"So I was correct then?" Cesare asked, tone grim.

Felisa sighed. "Yes, he has been giving information to the Assassin's for several months now."

Cesare shook his head, face unreadable. "I've had suspicions about him for a while now," he said. "After the Pope told me that he didn't remember Luca's father I began to do some investigating. Never found anything substantial but always wondered. Thank you for clearing that up for me."

She nodded. "Not a problem. Let me know if you need anything else."

He smiled. "Remember we have dinner with the Pope and several advisors tomorrow evening. If you could be there at six that would be wonderful."

"I will be there," she replied.

"Perfect."

* * *

><p>Felisa arrived a little early for the dinner, afraid of being late. She was wearing the only dress she owned, something she had bought specifically for occasions like this. It was nothing spectacular, just a basic dress, but even still she felt uncomfortable in it. She could have much preferred pants to it.<p>

Cesare spotted her quickly and motioned for her to join him, his sister, and the Pope.

"Father, this is Felisa de Pazzi," Cesare said, kissing her on the cheek. Felisa could feel Lucrezia glaring at her like a dagger in her back but did her best to ignore it. It wasn't like she wanted attention from the woman's power-hungry egotistical brother.

"I have heard great things about you Felisa de Pazzi," the Pope responded. "Your skill with a sword is well known among the ranks and word has made its way up to me. Unfortunate that you were unable to get Claudia and Maria Auditore in Monteroginni though."

She frowned instinctively reaching for her knives that were still on her belt in the barracks. "That was not a high point in my career," she replied. "I hope to have another chance soon."

Cesare nodded. "I have heard word that Ezio and his sister and mother are coming to Roma."

"That's good news, Cesare," the Pope said, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. "Do you know when he arrives?"

"Unfortunately, no," Cesare answered, glancing behind him. "We should probably get inside. Dinner will start soon and it would be a shame to be late to our own dinner party."

* * *

><p>Dinner went well in Felisa's opinion. As far as she knew Lucrezia hadn't poisoned her or any of the many (and, in Felisa's opinion, crazy) women who flirted with Cesare and no one drew a sword so that was good.<p>

It was after dinner that did not go as well.

Cesare, half drunk, had managed to corner her in an uncomfortably small nook in the hallway. Felisa attempted to move past him but he blocked her path, putting his hands where they definitely did not belong.

"Cesare," she said warningly.

"Yes, Felisa?" the man responded, smiling lewdly.

"Let go of me."

"But, Little Wolf..."

"Is there a problem here?" someone asked darkly, their voice almost a growl.

Cesare let go of her immediately and drew his sword. "Who's there?" he snarled.

Much to both of the Templars' surprise, Ezio Auditore stepped out of the shadows. "I do not think Signora Pazzi wishes to be that close to you," the man said dryly, unsheathing his hidden blade.

"Guards!" Cesare shouted, raising his sword to a fighting position.

Felisa stepped away from the two men. She was unarmed for the dinner party and had no intention of bringing her fists to a sword fight. She slipped out of the castle as quietly as she could, briefly concerned that Cesare would kill Ezio and her well-planned revenge would not go as it should.

When she stepped out into the courtyard she noticed the chaos that had broken out. Something about Lucrezia being locked in the dungeon and Caterina Sforza escaping was yelled and Felisa couldn't help but smile.

Ezio Auditore sure did know how to make a calm night into a crazy one.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Vieri showed his fouler side to Felisa in this chapter I'd say. I didn't like writing that stuff. Depressing. And then next chapter it just gets worse.**


	11. A New Beginning

Well, unfortunately, this is not exactly a new chapter. For that, I am sorry, to all my followers and readers.

This is an announcement that "Wolf's Blood" will be rewritten under a new name, "Torn". The first chapter is actually up right now, and I hope that you will enjoy it.


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